St. Louis Dominates

Last week I predicted that Detroit had it all to beat St. Louis in the 2006 World Series. Well, I guess I was wrong big time. Not, only did Detroit lose, but St. Louis beat them in the dominating style that I thought Detroit would be in. I guess those 6 days off really hurt them because they looked rusty. The big guns bats were dead and their pitchers forgot how to throw simple tosses to 1st or 3rd base.

Anyway, as a baseball fan I thought the Series was fairly captivating, although as I said many time before, MLB needs to start these games at 7:30 and have weekend day game. These 8:30 starts are rough. I thought it was really amusing when Fox brought out "scooter" at 9:30 to show the kids different types of pitches. Don't they realize that most kids have been asleep for at least a hour? I guess as long as Bud is in charge, things will never change.

Incidently, they are saying this was the lowest raiting world series ever.

The Definition of a Clueless Insensitive Jerk

Back in April I ranted about how Rush Limbaugh is a big hypocrite and ought to be in prison. Well now you can give him the "Most Clueless Insensitive Jerk" award. According to Newsday.com, Rush asserted that Michael J. Fox was "either off his medication or acting" while filming a commercial for Senate candidate Claire McCaskill of Missouri. Mr. Limabaugh went on by saying "Michael J. Fox is allowing his illness to be exploited and in the process is shilling for a Democrat politician,".

Rush is totally clueless. I personally know of someone who has Parkinson's. Actually he is a very good friend of my fathers and about 3 or 4 times a year I get a chance to play golf with him. My father once explained the drugs a person takes for Parkinsons are actually what makes the person shake. Dad further explained that if his buddy didn't take his drugs, he would actually become stiff like a board and it would become very hard for him to move. I actually witness this one day when we were golfing. My Dad's friend all of a sudden became stiff...so he took some drugs, waited a few minutes and away we went.

So when Rush says that Michael J. Fox is acting...Trust me...Michael is not acting. As for Fox reducing his medication to make a point. I guess if he is taking some kind of anti-shaking medication, then maybe...but he is not reducing the medication for his Parkinsons. And if Fox is reducing his anti-shaking medication to make his point more powerful...More Power to him. Fox's mission is drum up support for stem cell research so scientist can find a cure to Parkinsons. If more shaking makes a more powerful message then that is a good thing.

As for Fox allowing his illness to be exploited and in the process is shilling for a Democrat politician...C'mon Rush. Do you think Michael J. Fox is dumb enough to be used by the politicians? Republicans think stem cell research is immoral. Most people (myself included) and Democrats see the light and support federally funded stem cell research. It's a no-brainier who Michael J. Fox is supporting.

I really think Rush needs to sit down with someone with Parkinsons. This desease is awful and to hear The Big Hypocrite yell out that Fox is acting is insensitive. Shame on you Rush!!!

Charlotte Crawling?

Here is my first try at putting a video on the site, via You Tube.com. I think it turned out ok. As you can see, Charlotte is ready to take off!! Enjoy

Detroit in 5

Ok, my prediction of the 2006 World Series is this...The Tigers in 5. Although, I originally thought the Tigers would sweep the cards, If that were to happen, that means the national league would go 3 straight years without winning a game in the series (The sox swept the Cards in 04' and the White Sox swept the Astros in 05').

I know, the Cards did look good against the Mets, but the NL is no comparison to the AL in both pitching and hitting. Look at how the AL dominated in inter-league play. And the Tigers have all the goods to win...Great pitching, great offense and one of the best managers an the sport.

I just wish I had placed a bet in Los Vegas before the season began. Last year they were 71 and 91. I would have made a couple grand on a $20.00 bet...easily.

I'm 35 and Feeling It!!!

A friend of mind who I go down to Maryland (to play golf) every spring once told me when you hit your mid 30's your body begins to let you know, loud and clear, that you are not as young as you use to be. Well last night, boy did my body show me how old I was. I was playing with Maggie, chasing her around the kitchen, nothing to crazy...just a little chase. When all of a sudden I felt a twinge in my back and the next thing a knew, I could barely bend back up in a standing position....UGH Luckily it was close to 11:00PM, so I just crawled to bed and went to sleep.

This morning was a little rough getting up, but it's starting to loosen up. Wow, it sucks getting old!!!

The Grinch

Last night the three of us went over to Kohls to do a little shopping for some much needed jeans. When we went in the front door, Chris spotted the "Kohls Cares for Kids" display with various Dr. Seuss items and the new Ray Charles Christmas CD. Since we are both Dr. Seuss fans we wanted to buy all the items on the rack, but we settled for the book "How the Grinch Stole Christmas, a stuffed Max and the Ray Charles Christmas CD. Each item on the rack was only $5.00 and 100% of the net profits from the sale of these items to benefit health and educational opportunities for children in the communities Kohls serve.

If you are a Dr. Seuss fan you may want to stop by and pick up a book or two.

Bush blames Clinton...Again

I know it's starting to sound like a broken record, but it appears Dubya is at it again. Yes, he has once again blamed Clinton on a problem that he failed to address 4 years ago...North Korea. According to the Washington Post, Bush stated at a news conference on Wednesday ""In order to solve this diplomatic, the United States and our partners must have a strong diplomatic hand," Bush also said at a news conference. "And you have a better diplomatic hand with others, sending the message, than you do when you're alone." In other words, Clinton's one on one agreement with N. Korea in 1994 didn't work and you need to get other nations involved when you have talks...it presents a stronger image. Although he was careful not to use Clinton's name, trust me, he was blaming Clinton. Now why do you need the whole world when dealing with North Korea, but when the whole world is against you for invading Iraq, you thumb your nose at them?

It's comical that Dubya continues to blame Clinton for his problems (right before the upcoming mid-term elections). Dubya knows he messed everything up so he's trying to pass blame onto a president that left office 6 years ago and hope that people fall for his garbage and vote Republican. I see it also as like a child getting caught in the school yard and blaming another kid...it's not my fault, it was Billy's fault....waaaaa. Trust me, the teacher knows who fault it is...we are not stupid.

Just in case you are keeping score, here is what Dubya has blamed on Clinton/Democrats so far (feel free to add to the list).

1. 9/11 - Clinton should have taken steps to prevent it.
2. Bin-Ladden - Clinton should have done a better job to search and destroy him (Although when he did do this during the all important impeachment trials, Republicans accused him of "wagging the dog".
3. Foley - It's all the democrats fault. Their soul purpose for bringing it up is for political reasons. According to top republican brass, it's a travesty that the democrats are bring this up when there are more serious issues like the war. It sounds like the Monica/Clinton saga all over again except this time it involves a pedophile . Fox News tries to convince the base that Folley is really a Democrat...Fair and Balanced my butt
4. North Korea

Lake Placid, NY

Ever since 2001, Chris and I have gone up to Lake Placid, NY to check out the fall foliage in the Adirondacks Moutains. This year was no exception except now it was the three of us. For the people reading this from Ohio, Lake Placid is the home of the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics. Of course the 1980 Olympics was when the biggest upset in sports history occurred...The Miracle on Ice or when Team USA hockey team beat the Russians.


When you enter the village, it's hard to imagine that a world event such as the Olympics could be held in such a small town. Although 1980 was only 26 years ago, there were a lot less athletes participating back then so a place this small could hold an event like the Olympics. It's amazing walking past all the facilities, like the "Miracle" Hockey rink or the oval where Eric Heiden won his 5 gold medals in speed skating, or the field where the opening and closing ceremonies took place or the ski jumps...all the venues are still there and ready to be explored. There are actually groups that are looking into the possibility of holding the Olympics there again. I'm not sure if that will happen, but if it does, I will be there. And I won't care a bit about the traffic.

But back to why we were there, the foliage. I must say in all the years we have been going up there, this year by far was the brightest. The colors were amazing and it seamed from the smiles on her face, Charlotte like them too. After checking in Friday night at Art Devlin's Olympic Motor Inn, it was off to Nicola's on Main for dinner. On Saturday we got up, went to breakfast and then decided to take a ride up to Paul Smiths College via the Village of Saranac Lake. Saturday afternoon, we walked around Lake Placid, looking in some stores and enjoying the views of the town.

Saturday Night we had dinner at Jimmy's Lake Side Restaurant. Both Jimmy's and Nicola's were good places for a family and the food was great. As for, Art Devlin's Olympic Motor Inn. We highly recommend it. Very clean, the price is right and the view of the moutains from our back deck was fantastic.

On Sunday, it was off to breakfast again, a couple of of more stops at some shops and then back home. Another great weekend in Lake Placid...Fun Time

Here are some more pictures of the weekend.

Chris & Charlotte checking out the room
Saturday morning in Lake Placid
Aaron & Charlotte checking out the view
Saranac Lake
Lake Placid at dusk
Hull's Falls...Yes...it's true...these are Hull's Falls.
Marcy Field

School Violence...Are we doing enough?

This morning I read the horrible news about the school killings at a Pennsylvania Amish school. The horrific accounts brought tears to my eyes. How could anybody do this?

After a day of reflection of this awful tragedy and about recent violence at other schools across the nation including Albany High and South Colonie High, I asked myself, as a nation, are we doing enough to protect our children? My personal opinion is no!!!

I know all the laws/protections in the world are not going to prevent what happened in Pennsylvania, but why isn’t Society, the Governor, Congress and The President taking youth violence/gang violence seriously? Youth violence/gang violence is not just an Albany or NYC problem, it’s happening in all schools. When I drive around Albany, Colonie, Niskayuna, Saratoga, Clifton Park and Schenectady I see signs of gangs in the form of Graffiti. It has become such a problem that Crossgates Mall doesn’t allow people under 18 on weekend nights without a parent. I know people in the Social Services field that tell me that Crossgates is loaded with gang activity and they even trained me how to spot them. So this problem is everywhere, yet we as a society don’t demand the problem be addressed seriously. Do we not realize this is a serious problem? Why don’t we get involved and do what needs to be done? Why don’t politicians tackle the problem? Are they afraid it will hurt economic development? Why doesn’t the media ask politicians/police tough questions about gangs (Use the word gang more)?

People have told me that I am wrong for not supporting the war in Iraq…a war about oil. Yet we have a more important war to fight here at home and no one seams to take it seriously until it is too late…the war against youth violence/gang violence. It’s amazing, but in this country it is easier to buy a gun at Wall Mart then it is to see a Janet Jackson costume malfunction. The last I knew guns killed more kids then Janet Jackson bare front. And obviously congress sees her flashing as a bigger threat too…FCC fines increase yet no gun control bills.

As a start, here are a few things that should be done:

1. Make youth violence/gang violence a number one priority
2. Demand Administrators make this a number one priority…if they don’t, get rid of them.
3. Increase funding to after school and evening programs to keep kids off the streets and out of trouble. Require trouble youths to attend and if they don’t, refer to either #4 or #5 below.
4. Hold parents accountable for child’s actions (including criminal and/or monetary)
   If parents fail at being parents, they lose custody of children.
5. Increase mandatory sentences for youth violence/gang violence…make them felonies)
6. Require all acts of violence (including non-injury fights) be reported to the public within 24 hours of an incident. Any unreported incidents result in dismissal or personal fines to administrators.
7. Metal Detectors as needed
8. School Uniforms
9. Gun Control…I’m sorry, you don’t need an ooze to hunt bambi.
10. Gun Control
11. Did I say…Gun Control

Autumn Fun

No, it's not Clifford The Big Red Dog, but he sure looks like a close relative. The last two weeks, Chris, Charlotte and I have been busy enjoying Autumn in NY. Last weekend we went to the Adirondack Balloon Festival in Glens Falls , NY. Although the sun wasn't shining much and not all the balloons went up as planed, it was still cool. There had to be at least 40 of them in the air, including Clifford's cousin. It's not too often you get to see a giant dog floating around a airport.

The following day after a quick 18 holes at the Town of Colonie Golf Course, we had planed to go apple picking with our friends, Scott and Laurie along with their kids Abby and Sean at Bowman's Orchards in Clifton Park, but the forecast didn't look promising, so we postponed. When we got to the Orchards yesterday, there was a 1 mile backup to get into the place...Yes, that's right a 1 mile backup to go apple picking. So instead of wasting time in line, we drove a few miles down the road too Riverview Orchards and had some apple picking fun there instead. After an hour of picking apples, it started to rain, so we walked to the country store and waited in line for cider donuts for 1 hour...Yes, that's right 1 hour for donuts.

After the marathon wait, it was off to Friendly's for dinner and Ice Cream....Good Stuff!! Today, we relaxed and went to my parents for Sunday Dinner and some football. ...Next weekend, it's off to Lake Placid for the weekend.

Here are some pictures from the past few weekends:

Getting ready for flight
Taking a snooze before apple picking
Abby & Sean showing us where the good apples are
Chris and Charlotte
I can't wait until next year when I can pick on my own.